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Friday, June 22, 2012

Something like a plan

OK,. so one grand, megalomaniac, plan for creating a strategic wargames campaign.

Fact is, to do something like this right takes time and testing. I want to put together a campaign that is enjoyable for me to run, delightful for the participants, and something new in the world.

So the plan is not just a plan to take existing rules and run a campaign with them, but to start small with new ideas and develop experience in designing and running games based on them,

The terminology at left - what a surprise - comes from software development.

I have written about architecture in this blog already.

Core rules are derived from the architecture and are essentially invariant from scenario to scenario.

The scenario is not just map, situation and objectives but also those detailed rules (properly integrated as defined by core and architecture) that reflect a particular historical or fictional context.

Alpha-tests are solo tests designed to exercise parts of a model or a full, small, game situation.

Beta-tests are normal games with a small number of participants exercising a limited situation. The Franco-Prussian War (or even ts first 6 months) would be a good candidate for such a test. Because these are tests, rules might change through the game and between games more than in the "production release"

The final "Prime Game Scenario" would be something can could run for years - Europe and Her Colonies 1740-1760 for example.

When you set out what a polished, large scale campaign would take to develop one thing is clear: this could take years. That drives two conclusions:

Since I am a gaming butterfly, the core here has to be flexible enough to adapt to multiple periods and genres.

I have to enjoy the process - not just the nattering on about it process I am indulging in here ( although I do enjoy that process) but also the design, testing and most important refereeing of the resulting games.

Which is something to think about in a future post: what's in it for me?.